The Christmas Quest

This movie is worth watching for the great shots of Iceland scenery, and just for the novelty of a film shot in Iceland, with bits of Icelandic culture thrown in for good measure.

We have a distinct Indiana Jones style flavor her, with that heroic character even mentioned out loud, as a rich sponsor convinces Lacy, and archeologist, to unravel clues and find a treasure hidden hundreds of years ago.

Polaha plays a language expert, and her ex-husband, reluctantly recruited to join her and translate the clues they will find as they follow a puzzle step by step around the island.

Forget that the clues are in places that would have been found LONG ago, the movie is fun and certainly worth your time.

Hallmark's sanitised take on Indiana Jones or perhaps Lara Croft, features two big stars: the Queen of Christmas Lacey Chabert and Kristoffer Polaha, fresh off his starring role in 2023's 'A Biltmore Christmas'.

The chemistry between the two leads - who are divorced when they team up to hunt for legendary treasure in Iceland around Christmas, battling some not-really-evil bad guys along the way - is strong. They are both accomplished actors, and their banter is effortless.

But, man, the final reveal really sucked the life out of things, and left me shaking my head. Talk about a letdown! Yikes. Ninety minutes invested...for that? No bueno.

Right, well I didn't really know what I was in for here, I mean, sure I figured it was a Christmas movie given the movie's title, and since it was a Hallmark movie.

But writers Andrew Gernhard, Marcy Holland and Dustin Rikert broke the traditional Hallmark sappy Christmas movie and delivered something very different. This was sort of a strange hybrid of sappy Christmas movie meets "Indiana Jones". And truth be told, I actually liked it. It was a refreshing change of pace for Hallmark, and it was actually an entertaining storyline that the writers had pieced together. So color me entertained throughout the course of the 84 minutes that the movie ran for.

Sure, there were many things throughout the movie that just didn't really make much of any sense, but this is a movie meant for entertainment, not to be a study in science and human behavior.

It was nice to see a Hallmark movie taking place somewhere outside of USA. Iceland was quite a nice setting for the movie, but of course, it had to be there, given the contents of the storyline.

Of the entire cast ensemble, I was only familiar with leading actress Lacey Chabert, whom actually carried this role quite well. I will say that the acting performances in the movie were good, and it was nice to see so many Icelandic talents on the screen. I just wonder why they weren't speaking more Icelandic throughout the course of the movie. But of course keeping it English appeals to a broader audience.

Visually, then the movie was good. I really liked the Icelandic scenery, because it added so much beauty and grace to the movie.

If you enjoy Christmas movies, and looking for something that breaks the traditional sugar-coated sappy Hallmark formula, then "The Christmas Quest" could be a movie to check out. I was genuinely entertained throughout the course of the entire movie.

While "The Christmas Quest" doesn't have the contents to become a Christmas classic, I will say that it is a movie that is well-worth sitting down to watch a single time.

My rating of director Dustin Rikert's 2024 movie "The Christmas Quest" lands on a six out of ten stars.

I was initially excited to watch The Christmas Quest because the plot sounded promising-a heartwarming holiday adventure set in Iceland sounded like a refreshing twist on the typical Hallmark Christmas formula. While the movie had its moments, I was ultimately disappointed.

On the positive side, the scenery was breathtaking. The Icelandic landscapes brought a magical, wintery charm to the screen, and I enjoyed learning about some of Iceland's unique Christmas traditions, which added an interesting cultural element to the story.

However, the dialogue left much to be desired. Many of the lines felt awkward and stilted, which made it hard to connect with the characters or immerse myself in the story. The film had so much potential, but the odd writing kept it from truly delivering the holiday magic I was hoping for.

Overall, The Christmas Quest had a great premise and stunning visuals but fell short due to the clunky script. If you're a fan of Hallmark movies and want to learn about Icelandic Christmas customs, it might still be worth a watch-but temper your expectations.

At least Stefanie (Lacey Chabert) and Chase (Kristoffer Polaha) got a free trip to Iceland, right?

How can I say this in the most kind way possible? Well . . . I had no idea of most of the things people in this movie were saying. The Icelandic traditions, history and language obviously deserve proud representation, but the words were so jumbled that I really could not follow this movie. I did try reading the subtitles. No luck. Icelandic words are hard.

This is like the preschool version of The da Vinci Code and Indiana Jones. I hope the movie made sense to someone, but it wasn't me. I like these actors, but dang, this was a major disappointment.

And, who lit the candles in the old cave? Nonsense. Where did the electricity come from?

What if the treasure you seek is a bunch of old crap? Finish this movie and find out. But don't. Just skip it.

Cast Kudos: none

Measuring Christmas Magic: Nope. Zero.

Alternative Movie Titles: Iceland Deserves Better.